Delayed Player

Souji sat on his couch, staring blankly at his TV. Nobody had welcomed him home in the past two weeks. Nobody had sat with him at dinner and sang to the Junes commercial whenever it came on. Nobody was there for him to talk to. He was alone, but that hadn't sunk in until just now. It was horrible, both his uncle and cousin lay injured in the hospital, and he just started to comprehend it? He was such a jerk…

Jumping when his cell phone started ringing, he fished it out of his pocket and glared at the caller ID. Rise was calling. Flipping the phone open, he cancelled the call and turned the device off, practically slamming it onto the table. None of them understood how he felt, not even close. They all acted sad and blamed themselves, but none of them knew Nanako or Dojima as much as he did. They didn't even take how he felt into consideration! When he told them to calm down, they just yelled right back in his face! They just kept on blaming and feeling sorry for themselves asking for pity from the one actually related to the patients! Selfish pricks…

The idol probably called him in the first place just to try to get on his good side for who-the-hell-knows-why-or-what. All he knew was that he liked her a thousand times better before they saved her. Now, she was just an annoying idiot who tried to cling to his arm every second she got. She was especially annoying once they were in battle…

"Look out, Senpai, you're poisoned!" No shit, Sherlock! You don't think he couldn't feel an enormous amount of pain coursing through his veins?

Groaning, he slid down the sofa, a headache starting to pound against the walls of his skull. He didn't want to go downstairs and be greeted to the empty loneliness… but he guess it didn't matter, he had been seeing it for two weeks now, after all. Slipping down the stairs, he dug through the cabinet where all the medicine and first-aid kit was, grabbing the Tylenol container when he finally found it buried in the back. He took two with a glass of water, not bothering to put the container back; it would make something look different down there. He groaned again when the doorbell rang when he was halfway up the steps and he grudgingly made his way back down.

Opening the door, he was greeted to the ever sheepish looking detective, Adachi.

"Hi, there! I-I didn't wake you, did I?" the cop questioned, slyly rubbing the back of his head.

Souji sighed and shook his head, "No. What is it?"

The teenager was surprised when Adachi hadn't commented on his harsh tone of voice. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up. I know it must be lonely all by yourself, I know how it is." He smiled sadly, continuing to scratch the back of his head.

Souji blinked. This man was an idiot, too. He may be his uncle's right-hand man who came over a few times to help with the investigations, or to help Dojima get to the couch when he was drunk, but that was pretty much the only time the two ever actually conversed, however little it was. When he'd been at the mall with his friends and the detective had appeared, the teenager never said a word, the idiot kept running his mouth about the case and his friends were all raising eyebrows in question at the should-be classified information being leaked to them.

…Souji didn't trust him.

Adachi was awkward, naïve (for a cop), simple-minded, clumsy, and a bumbling idiot. Well, that was the front he'd created for people to see so they could believe in him. Souji knew there was something under that aloof exterior. He always noticed the dark gaze the detective gave him whenever the man thought he wasn't paying attention. There was also something that had seemed to spark in him when that Yamano or Saki girl was mentioned. And there was also when Naoto had listed off Yukiko's and the other's names in Namatame's diary. What had he said…?

"Well then, I guess that settles it!" or something to that accord. They'd only been declared missing, not kidnapped, the detective knew that, and that's what killed the "innocent" Adachi from Souji's mind. He was trying to play them all like a violin.

"Hey, uh, you okay there?" Souji blinked again looking at the cop who was peering at him curiously. The teenager shook his head, giving a practiced—convincing—apologetic smile.

Adachi wasn't the only one who could play other people for a fool.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Adachi-san, I've been zoning out a lot lately." There was that darkened gaze again, even if it was only there for just a second, he still saw it.

"Really? That's not good. Is it because of Dojima-san and Nanako-chan being in the hospital? Oh, what if it's because of this fog?" The man thought incredulously, his eyes widening at the fact.

The teenager stared out at the fog behind the older man, somehow noticing it seemed…lighter around Adachi. Maybe he was just going crazy. Either way, he lightly shook his head and racked his brain for a reply, "…I…I'm not sure what it is, really."

Adachi gave a short smile, "I see." His eyes grew wide again, "Oh! Uh, may I come in? There's something I want to talk to you about. That, and it's kinda…cold out here."

Souji nodded and barely was able to manage apologizing for his "lack of manners" before stepping aside, allowing the older man to pass and take off his shoes before making himself at home, immediately seating himself on the couch like this were actually his house. Closing and locking the door, Souji walked to the living room as well and sat himself on his usual cushion by the table, looking blankly at the cop.

What would he want to talk about?

"Hey, come on now, don't make me feel bad." …What? "Here, come and sit on the couch. It's not like I bite or anything."

Souji's inner eyes narrowed. What was he up to? Surely it didn't matter where he sat, right? Silently getting up, he sat next to the older man and instantly felt a chill run down his spine. This was suddenly way too close for comfort.

"So..." the teenager suddenly found himself fidgeting and nervous, "W-What did you want to talk about?"

Those dark eyes were drilling holes in the side of his head. He didn't dare look over.

"I was just wondering," if it'd been anyone else, they wouldn't have noticed the hint of anger in Adachi's voice, "how you and your friends found Mitsuo, Namatame and Nanako-chan at the electronics department in Junes at the same spot."

Souji froze. He scanned his brain for any type of excuse, but he could find none. Dammit, he hadn't expected anyone to question that!

"I mean, don't get me wrong, we're glad you caught them, I'm just curious."

"…We…" Souji faltered, and it suddenly felt like he was being suffocated. He couldn't breathe, his headache was back with a vengeance, and those killer eyes wouldn't stop eating away at him. He couldn't think of anything to say. What could he say? "Oh, yeah, they were all in the TV! Funny story, huh? It's actually really true, but you didn't believe me in the police station so I won't even bother." Yeah, right.

"Whoa! H-hey, are you all right? You look ready to collapse!" Adachi's voice rang with his headache, and he suddenly felt the urge to throw up.

"I…I need to lie down…" Souji found himself muttering, the room spinning as he tried to focus on the table, hoping that would stop his sudden dizziness.

"Oh, yeah, of course! Here, let me help you." When the detective helped lay him down on the couch, Souji felt dirty. That man…he knew the whole idiot thing was a façade, but what exactly was it that made him feel so dangerous? The fact that he had a gun holstered at his side and could blast his brain out at any moment? No, of course not, the man wasn't actually an idiot, and he'd have nothing to gain if he did that. So just what was it that was now putting him at unease?

"Here, I got you a glass of water."

Something about him…

"You don't want it? I'll put it on the table then. Heh, it's a good thing I came over after all, isn't it? If I hadn't, who knows what would have happened to you!"

Souji knew that Adachi knew that he knew the mask was a lie. Adachi could probably see through Souji's mask just as easily.

"A-Adachi-san?"

"Yeah?"

"C-an you…call…an ambulance?"

"Huh? Why? What's the matter?"

"I…I can't…breathe…"

"W-What? O-Okay, hang on, stay calm, I'm calling them right now!" Souji grimaced as his chest continued to tighten after every breath. He didn't want to rely on that man, he knew there were either skeletons or a black hole in the detective's closet, but right now, he had no choice. He seriously couldn't breathe, and his pounding head was blocking out Adachi's distressed calls for him.

He blacked out.